


Fractured Salvation

by AlexiaBlackbriar13



Series: Falling, Failing, Flying [2]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Emotional Hurt, Evil SHIELD Doctor, Gen, HYDRA irony, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Torture, Major Therapy Needed!, Medical Abuse, Mutant Powers, Panic Attacks, Protective Avengers, Psychiatrist humour, Telekinesis, Tony Explodes Stuff, Tony Has Trust Issues, Waterboarding, Winged Tony Stark, Wingfic, Wings, alternative universe, mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-19 07:12:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3600984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexiaBlackbriar13/pseuds/AlexiaBlackbriar13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you have massive wings and uncharted powerful telekinetic abilities, it's only a matter of time before you're called in to be examined, scanned and experimented on.</p><p>Tony knew that Fury would eventually come to collect. He just wasn't expecting it to be so soon. Or so violent.</p><p>((This is a one-shot centred in the Falling, Failing, Flying AU Universe. Just for the fans, who have been so supportive and appreciative))</p><p>((The next instalment of the series will be posted soon))</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fractured Salvation

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still working on the sequel for Torn and Frayed, but here is a short one-shot centred in the Universe. It's about Tony going for his SHIELD examination.
> 
> This is simply my imagination at play.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or Marvel.
> 
> I'm so sorry if the characters are OOC. Thank you for reading. Please take your time to comment and leave kudos! It is very much appreciated.

"Tony." Pepper stuck her head around the corner, mobile in hand, and she was frowning slightly. "Director Fury wants you to report to SHIELD."

Tony glanced up from where he was tinkering on a new Starkanium arc reactor core, his red and gold wings loosely folded into his back. He put down his spanner and his screwdriver and brushed off his trousers, fanning out and shaking his wings. They were quite dirty, with the tips dusted in grease.

"Hmm?"

"Fury wants you to report to SHIELD," Pepper repeated, more slowly, staring at him. "For a physical examination. DNA testing. Scans." She paused before adding, "For your wings."

Tony froze. Very slowly, he turned and faced her. "When?"

She swallowed. "Today. At 3pm."

Tony looked glassily down at his watch. It clearly showed it was nearing midday. From the side Dummy clicked nervously and You hummed. Abruptly, the winged genius flared his wings to half span and strode past Pepper, locking the workshop and storming up the stairs.

It had been four months since the Battle of New York, and three months since Loki had arrived in very bad shape and Tony had made the deals with Fury. Since the Tower was still being fixed, construction and repair scheduled to finish in another two months, the Avengers were all being housed in Tony's Malibu home. Pepper had sorted out all of the trademarking and copyright for the Avengers, as one or the deals Tony had made was that the Avengers be free from outside control.

"JARVIS. Bring up today's schedule."

"You appear to have no commitments today, Sir," JARVIS replied promptly.

"Then make something up," Tony said hastily. "A business meeting, a press conference, anything."

"You can't, Tony," Pepper told him, sounding apologetic as she appeared from the stairwell. "I already told Fury you would be coming."

Tony whipped around, and as he did, a lightbulb burst above him. "Why would you do that?"

"He said that Loki was cleared from medical and his debriefing was complete, so you could pick him up today. I told him you would come and then he added on the end about the testing." She shuffled somewhat nervously, glancing up at the broken light bulb. "Tony, I know you don't want to do this, as you have said, repeatedly, but you've got to think about Loki."

"He's been stuck in that hell hole for months," Tony muttered. "Have to get him outta there." He gave a short humourless laugh. "Of course Fury would choose today of all days. Today, when no Avengers are around to keep him in check; Nat, Clint and Steve off on a SHIELD mission and Bruce in New Mexico with Dr Foster; of course he would choose today."

Tony tapped his finger on the kitchen counter, his wings ruffling and bristling to clean themselves of dust and grease. "JARVIS, I presume you have Natasha, Clint and Steve on speed dial."

"I'll send them an emergency message, Sir."

"At least they'll be on standby if something goes wrong," Tony muttered. "Where's the helicarrier then?"

Pepper texted out the message on her Starkphone and barely seconds later, she had a reply. "Fury says they're hovering over the SHIELD R&D facility in Nevada."

"Tell him to have a clear space on the landing deck, with landing lights ready."

Tony threw open the doors and clambered onto the rock that he had dived off after his broken wing had healed, three months ago. Pepper caught his hand and squeezed it encouragingly. She stole a kiss on his cheek before backing off, clutching her phone to her chest.

The great crimson and gold wings spread out to full span, catching the breeze and buffing out majestically, wind flowing through the feathers. With three massive wing beats, Tony was in the sky, soaring just below the clouds, turning so he was heading inland.

"JARVIS, map me a flight route to Nevada," he ordered into his earpiece.

"Already done, Sir. Enjoy your flight."

"Time to brave the sharks."

......

Great buffets of dust flew into the air as Tony beat his wings rhythmically, touching down on the cleared space on the flight deck that was shown by the circle of red lights surrounding him. He straightened and folded his wings so they were only poised at half span intimidatingly and fearlessly.

Fury and Hill were standing just outside the circle of red lights, though Fury looked unimpressed. Tony approached them with one raised eyebrow. He had the calibrated bracelets on his wrists, so he could call the suit if it got too steamy, but he was feeling confident at that moment.

"I answer your summons, oh great one," he said sarcastically.

"Cut the dramatics, Stark," Hill snapped. "You're here for testing, and then to pick up Loki. And that only. If you could follow me."

She strode off towards the main deck and Tony watched her go, crossing his arms. He turned to Fury.

"Nice to see she's still got that stick up her ass," he said in a clipped voice.

"She's only like that when you're around," Fury responded.

Tony vanished his wings into the Etheric Dimension as he followed Hill into the main conference room, if only to stop the agents from staring at him. He liked being the centre of attention, yes, but he didn't like his wings being stared at.

Loki was seated in one of the chairs, dressed in casual black pants and a loose green shirt. He stood as they entered and a look of pure relief came over his face as he caught sight of Tony. Compared to the last time Tony had seen him, which was when he had left him in SHIELD medical, Loki looked like a god-given miracle. He looked much more healthy, less pale; his lean frame was now more muscular and strong, and his hands were slender but skilled.

"Looking better, Reindeer Games," Tony winked at him. "All packed up for La Casa De Stark?"

"I did not have any possessions to begin with," Loki replied, with a small smile, relieved with the casual banter. "But I have heard of the Midgardian expression, 'Mi Casa es Su Casa'. I can only presume this applies?"

"You've gotten cheekier, and sassier. I like that." Tony grinned openly.

"The Director has arranged for a Quinjet to fly you back to Malibu at 7pm," Maria Hill interrupted, flatly looking between them.

Loki looked confused and exasperated. "We are not leaving immediately?"

"We had conditions concerning your housing," Hill gritted out. Obviously she still had issues. "Stark was willing to oblige."

"Unwilling to oblige. If I recall I was kinda blackmailed and threatened into it. I distinctly remember poor Agent Willis."

"You'll be staying here," Hill addressed Loki firmly. She turned to Tony. "You will be coming with me."

"Oh, will I?" Tony bared his teeth.

Hill pulled out her handgun and shot him a pointed glare. "Yes, you will."

The repaired decorative glass window with the SHIELD emblem, that had only just been fixed after Tony had shattered it three months ago, once again was destroyed, raining shards of glass down onto the floor. Tony flinched and winced under Hill's condescending glower.

Loki toed one of the larger pieces of glass. "Interesting. I would say your powers have grown since our last encounter."

"Sorry?" Tony tried.

"We will not hesitate to use force, Mr Stark," Hill said, in a low and dangerous tone. "You can either come with me now and avoid a lot of unnecessary paperwork, or I can have four agents sedate and drag you, which I assure you, will only end in blood, tears and wasted time."

"Then I suppose I'll follow you." Tony stood woodenly and motioned for Loki to stay down, as the god of mischief was looking furious at Hill's threat. "I'll be back in a few hours, Loki. Make yourself comfortable; watch some Supernatural." As he passed, Tony leant forwards and whispered, "Stir up some racket for me, will you?"

Loki smirked, but it transformed into a concerned grimace as Tony left the room. The winged genius tailed Hill through the corridors until the agent opened a door and nodded. Tony entered and jumped slightly as Hill shut the door with a bang behind him.

"Mr Stark." It was a woman, quite tall and slim, brown hair in a pony tail, looking starstruck. She had a strong British accent. "Dr Jemma Simmons. I'll be overseeing your scans and x-rays today, and gathering samples of your blood and DNA; after this I'll hand you over to the physical examination team. Might I just say it is an honour -"

"I don't want to be rude," Tony interrupted tersely. "But this isn't exactly how I planned to spend my afternoon. As in, I don't enjoy being poked and prodded. So if we could get this over with... Preferably as quickly as possible...please..."

"Oh." Simmons looked taken back for a moment, but then on seeing Tony's uncertain face and the tenseness of which he held his body as he glanced about for hidden cameras or other agents, she swiftly turned sympathetic. "Oh, of course. We'll start with the scans then."

She led him over to another attached small room that had been closed off, with a radiation sign on the door. She opened it and started turning on the lights by a separate control panel. Tony stepped inside warily. The door shut behind him.

A comm crackled to life. "I'm just going to take a few scans: x-ray, heat signature and a few others. It shouldn't last twenty minutes." A moment passed and then Simmons said gently, "Mr Stark, your wings, please."

"Right." He released them and shook them out a few times to straighten his feathers. "Do you want me to flare them slightly? I won't be able to full span; not enough room. But I could get maybe to a quarter span."

"That would be wonderful, thank you. You might feel a little warm or nauseous, but that will just be the waves passing through your structure. Try to relax as much as possible."

After twenty minutes had passed, Simmons opened the door and motioned him out. Tony practically pranced and leapt into the bigger room, wings giving a little flap as he did so. Simmons waved at him to take a seat as she transferred the information from the systems to her laptop.

"This is strange," she finally said, confused. "Take a look at this."

She sat down next to him with the laptop on her knees and pointed at the screen. It showed a transparent image of Tony, with his full skeleton, but there was something missing.

"My wings didn't show up in your scan," he deduced.

"No. And here's the weirdest part; this scan here shows that your heart is emitting a non terrestrial energy output that's not recognised on Earth. And it runs in veins throughout your body, especially through here." She pointed. "No wings on the x-Ray, but it shows clear energy signatures where your wings would be."

She shot Tony a hopeful look.

"If your hoping I know what it is, I have no clue," Tony informed her honestly, taking the laptop and zooming in slightly. "I've never seen this type of energy before. It's nothing like the arc reactor. You can see that here." He jabbed the screen. "I'd recognise that anywhere. But this, just behind it... And that's inside my body?"

"Apparently," Simmons replied. She stood up and took her laptop as she did so. "I'll run a few more tests on the results later and send you the data. But for now, I need DNA."

"Which means blood and feathers," Tony guessed.

"Well, I was just going to request blood and skin cells, but if you're happy to..." Her wide eyes looked so curious.

"It'll stop Fury from complaining I didn't give you enough to work with."

Tony raked one hand through his right wing, coming up with three feathers that fell out easily, one gold covert, a red covert and a red secondary. He inspected them carefully before handing all three over to Simmons, who stared at them as if each one was a million dollars. She carefully placed each feather into a plastic medical bag, labelling each one with what type of feather it was, the colour, which wing it was from, its purpose, and its position in the other feathers.

"How much blood do you need?" Tony asked bluntly, rolling up his sleeve and offered his arm.

Simmons held up a medium-sized syringe. "Three of these."

"Three? Are you trying to bleed me dry?" Tony chuckled. "Go ahead, piranha."

Simmons efficiently collected her three syringes of blood and emptied each one into a small vial, which she capped, labelled and bagged. She next collected a small scrapped off skin sample, and then when Tony offered, because for SHIELD scientist she didn't seem too bad, she took a saliva sample and then a hair sample.

"We're ahead of schedule," Simmons announced as she handed Tony a packet of poptarts and a juice box after his blood draw. "They didn't expect you to be so cooperative. So might I ask why you aren't trying to 'rip my head off' as Agent Hill said you might do?"

Tony shrugged, biting into a poptart and chewing. "You seem like a nice woman. You were considerate and sympathetic. You don't find many people like that in SHIELD. I decided that I didn't want to traumatise you like I have most SHIELD agents."

"Traumatise?" Simmons repeated, alarmed. "You traumatise SHIELD agents?"

"So far I've sent three agents to a psychiatrist," Tony responded easily, draining his juice box.

There was a pounding on the door at the same time Simmons' mobile beeped. The scientist glanced at the screen.

"Oh no, I'm late for Coulson's team meeting," she muttered, before she said louder, "That'll be Agent Hill, Mr Stark, to take you to your physical."

But Tony had gone rigid and was staring at Simmons with wide eyes and a shocked expression. "Did you say Coulson?" He asked shortly, in a demanding tone.

Simmons glanced at him from sideways on. Panic flitted across her face. "No."

"You said Coulson."

"No, I didn't. I'm sorry, Mr Stark. Who's Coulson?"

Tony's face fell and he stood, wings drooping as he headed towards the door. "Never mind," he murmured. "Thought you mentioned an old friend. He died a few months ago."

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that," Simmons answered. "Good bye, Mr Stark. Thank you for your time."

"Simmons, you need anything, you just give me a shout. Turn up at my house, give me a call, anything. I would offer you a job, but you seem comfortable here. So I hope I see you again." He winked.

Simmons blushed. "Thank you, Mr Stark."

The door shut behind him. Tony plastered on his nonchalant, care-free attitude as Maria Hill looked him up and down, her eyes lingering for a moment on his folded wings.

"Everything went well?" She questioned.

"Well you can't say I wasn't generous." Tony blinked lazily at her. "So what now?"

"Physical." Hill led him down the next corridor. "Dr Elric is a busy man. He won't take nonsense or any messing about. I suggest you listen and do everything he says."

"And when do I not?" Tony teased.

"On a regular basis. Through here, if you please." Hill pushed the door open to reveal a large open room with a metal table with metal posts in the centre.

Hill left once again, locking him inside. A tall sandy-haired, sharp man with a team of other men in lab coats was standing by the side.

"Shirt off," Elric said shortly.

Tony blinked. "What?"

One of the men in a lab coat grabbed him from behind and wrestled his shirt off of him, leaving Tong growling but bare chested, his wings buffing out intimidatingly.

"Full span, please," Elric ordered, measuring tape in hand.

This time Tony obeyed instantly. His stomach was twisting and his head pounding as he spread his wings out to full span, feeling very self-conscious and wary. His head shot about to eye each of the lab coat hench men. He was beginning to think he had gotten himself into a bad situation.

One man grabbed the tip of his right wing, causing Tony to yelp before another grabbed his left wing tip. Tony emitted a spine-tingling snarl, but none of the men seemed to be affected. Tony twisted and turned in the mens' grips, but they didn't release him as Elric measured his span, writing it down.

"Alright. On the table."

Tony's heart was hammering in his chest and he felt like he couldn't breath. He tried to back off, but the two men holding his wing tips only held on tighter, bringing on a fresh wave of nausea. "No. Get away from me."

"I'm an impatient man, Mr Stark," Elric warned. "You do not want to get on my bad side."

"You don't want to get on MY bad side," Tony growled, eyes flashing. "Things tend to explode when you do."

"Fine." Elric turned to his hench men. "Get him up on the table."

They didn't hesitate. Two men grabbed his wings, while one took each of his limbs. Tony completely panicked. He squirmed and shook and tried to throw them off, chest heaving and hyperventilating, his chest feeling stuffed and hot and heavy, but he couldn't do anything to stop them. The men pushed him down onto the metal table and when Tony wouldn't stop thrashing, they tied his wrists and ankles down to the four posts using leather straps.

Tony felt as if he had blacked out. He was back in Afghanistan, unable to control the Etheric Dimension, wings flapping wildly as the Ten Rings men tied him down to tear out his feathers and violate his wings. He wanted to scream, but his throat was blocked and he choked, not getting enough oxygen. A writhing ball of energy was blazing inside of him.

(("He's not responding. He needs to be responsive."))

Burning hot hands were holding down his ankles and wrists as he writhed and sobbed and cried. There was no escape. The heat, the dirt, the fear. It was overwhelming.

(("Maybe you should slap him." "No. Throw a bucket of water over him. That'll wake him up."))

Freezing cold water cascaded over his head and shoulders and there was a hand on his wing and it was too much.

Tony freaked. He started screaming and thrashing even harder, wild and desperate and terrified, easily breaking the leather straps and throwing punches, whacking people down, his frenzied beating wings untameable. The energy and heat that had been building in his chest exploded outward, and every light bulb shattered, and every glass window smashed, and all the equipment sparked and died. Elric and his hench men were thrown back by the lash of energy, into the walls.

Unable to halt the onslaught of horrible, terrible memories of torture and violation and waterboarding, Tony threw up several times before crawling into the corner underneath a desk, shaking and trembling uncontrollably, wrapping his wings around himself, shuddering, curling into a ball and letting darkness take him.

......

"Oh god. Oh my god. I killed him. I killed Tony Stark. Oh god."

"Keep it together, Hill. He's still got a pulse. I'm going to get a med emergency team down here. Try and wake him up, keep him warm. And be gentle."

"I didn't know... I didn't think Elric would... Go, go! Get a medical team quickly. Stay with me, Stark. I'll never forgive myself if you die. Just stay with me."

......

(("Guys, his eyes are opening, I think he's waking up."))

He stirred and blinked blearily at the out of focus figures gathered around him. There were soft voices around him, urging him onwards, and when the figures finally focused, Tony sighed, relaxing, wings that had been hanging off of the bed drawing inwards.

"Clint," he rasped.

"Hey, Tones," Clint said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes and looking concerned. "How're you feelin'?"

Tony paused, shifting, and all of his muscles protested, prompting a groan. "Like I got hit by a bus. And then by the Hulk. What're you guys doing here?" He frowned. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Steve questioned, coming forwards, and oh god, were those tears in his eyes? Was goddamn Captain America crying for Tony Stark?

"Not...really..." Tony replied. "I get flashes... It's all a bit fuzzy..."

"You had a severe panic attack," Natasha supplied quietly, sitting in the chair beside the bed. "Agent Hill found you in the aftermath of what looked like a bomb scene. She called us in."

"She's pretty messed up about it," Clint continued. "She said she thought she'd killed you. She said you almost died."

"I did?"

"She said there was blood on your wings," Steve said slowly, standing at the bottom of the bed. "And bruises in the shapes of hands. And you were completely wet."

Quizzically, he glanced at his wings, and saw a few stitched up cuts underneath his feathers. Stretching one, he was able to feel the bruise. Then he flashed back, and he was able to recall the forceful hands and restraints.

Tony swallowed and looked away. "Yeah, I remember now."

"She stayed with you and kept you alive until a medical team got down to you. Fury thinks she's traumatised by the experience."

"Great. Somebody else I've sent to a psychiatrist," Tony said jokingly, but he was too exhausted to pull it off.

"Agent Hill didn't realise you had triggers," Natasha said. "None of us did."

"I was tortured for three months," Tony snapped, lying in the bed feeling useless. "Yes, I have triggers, okay?"

Steve looked like a kicked puppy. "The water?"

"Waterboarding," Natasha said shortly. "It's where they basically drown you on dry land. Hypothermia and pneumonia are common -"

"Shut up! Just shut up, alright?" Tony shouted. A light bulb exploded. "I know what waterboarding is. Just..." He slumped, exhausted. "Please just don't talk about it."

"We won't," Steve assured, shooting Natasha a glare. "You should rest, Tony. Eat and drink something. We'll have the nurse bring you something."

"Some tortilla chips would do wonders," Tony sighed. "And I would ask for your strongest whiskey, but I wouldn't be able to deal with your disappointed look, so some water please."

"Of course," Steve said. "Natasha, Clint, come on. We should check on Loki."

"Wait, how long have I been here?" Tony asked, looking between them.

"It's nearly 8pm. Loki's in the conference room watching Supernatural Season 5," Natasha explained dryly. "I don't think anybody told him what happened to you in worry that he'll smash the place."

"Yeah, he seems fond of you," Clint said. He didn't looked thrilled.

Tony said in realisation, "You've heard then."

"That Loki's gonna be living with us? Yeah, I heard. And you weren't going to tell us until this evening, were you?" Clint crossed his arms. "So what? We come back from our mission to find Loki watching cartoons on the couch eating ice cream?"

"So you don't want him living with us."

Clint startled. "I didn't say that -"

"You implied it," Tony muttered.

Clint struggled for a moment. "Okay, so I admit, I have issues with that psychopathic maniac living in the same house as me. I think we all have issues."

"He's not a psychopathic maniac," Tony said tiredly. "He's just an abused, neglected, confused kid."

"Who does that remind you of?" Natasha quietly murmured.

Clint scowled. "Only as long as his room isn't near mine."

Steve gave a quiet laugh, before motioning to Natasha and Steve. "We'll let you get some sleep."

"Sleep is the last thing I wanna do," Tony muttered to himself as his friends and fellow Avengers vacated the room, leaving him.

The nurse came a few minutes later to drop off food and water, but didn't stare or come too close to him. Tony expected that the knowledge of his powers had spread and people had heard of what had happened with Elric and his hench men. They were probably somewhere in medical too. Tony ate the tortilla chips and drank his water under the watchful eye of the nurse. After that, the nurse seemed content and left.

Once he was alone, Tony tore off the heart monitor strap and glanced under his sheets as he sat up. Luckily he was still in his own clothes and not one of those ridiculous see-through hospital gowns. He sat on the edge of the bed, regaining his senses and the feeling in his toes and fingers before he stood up and stretched.

Without any warning at all, the door opened and Agent Hill came inside, looking distant, with a water pitcher and a stack of glasses in her hands. She paused awkwardly when she realised Tony was standing.

"You're awake," she stated. "I should alert the medical team."

"Nurse already came in. I feel fine." He combed a hand through his hair. "And before you start going on about standard procedure and health checks, if it makes you any better when Bruce gets back in two days time, I'll have him check me over."

"You don't trust any SHIELD employees, do you?" Hill asked sadly, though it sounded more like statement.

Tony snorted, doing up the wrist strap of his watch and picking up his tiny ear piece from the bedside table. "Can you blame me?" He turned away, nerves setting in again. "So, er, will I have to see Dr Elric again?"

"You must think me a monster if you think I'd put you through that again," Hill said, sounding a bit offended. "No. In fact, Dr Elric has been put on permanent vacation. He's being transferred over to work with the British authorities."

"At least I know to avoid the UK now," Tony said, in some attempt at humour. "That Dr Simmons. You should promote her, give her a pay rise. She's good at her job."

"Is this Tony Stark giving a commendation to a SHIELD employee?" Hill raised an eyebrow.

"Take from it what you will. I don't mean for this to sound like a threat, but if that girl isn't rewarded for her skill, then Stark Industries might just have to steal her away from you."

Hill smiled. "Then you'll be glad to hear she's been placed with our most advanced field team."

"Good." Tony folded his wings and picked up his jacket. "I'm heading down to the conference room. My team and Loki are waiting. Walk with me?"

"Of course."

Hill opened all the doors for him and seemed to realise Tony didn't like it when she walked in front, or behind him, so she walked at his side. Tony could tell she was curiously glancing at his half flared wings every so often, marvelling at the crimson and gold feathers, but appreciated that she didn't say anything.

Hill's mouth opened, but Tony got there before she could get the words out.

"This is probably the part where you awkwardly apologise for almost killing me and triggering traumatic flashbacks and recommend a psychiatrist of which I will punch and send to therapy. Let me assure you, there's no longer any need. I accept your apology and save you from the costs of a psychiatrist."

"How kind of you, Stark," Hill commented amusedly.

"And there's none of that," Tony snapped his fingers at her. "If we're going to be on neutral terms, however strange those terms may be, then we will be on first name basis."

Hill looked unsure. "Standard procedure states -"

"And you should know by now that I disregard any and all rules and completely despise SHIELD procedures. You know, the SHIELD procedures that caused me to have a panic attack and destroy that room of yours. That I will not be paying for, by the way, because that totally wasn't my fault."

"I wasn't implying that it was, Tony," Hill said, through the name was said grudgingly.

Tony grinned. "I got Maria Hill to call me by my first name. Now Clint owes me a life size chocolate model of myself. Thank you, Maria, thank you."

"You bet on - you know what, I'm not surprised. This is Agent Barton we're talking about. The man who convinced Agent Coulson to join him undercover on a mission at a gay bar and to keep their cover forced him to give tongue in public."

"Okay, I am definitely asking Clint about that later."

"We're here," Maria said unnecessarily.

Tony glanced at the door to the conference room. "That we are." Hill nodded and made to leave, but Tony caught her arm. "Look, you seem like a decent person who enjoys their work. All I'm saying is that if one day, SHIELD shuts down or you get into trouble, I'll ask Pepper to have a space at SI free for you."

Maria looked touched. "Thank you. I appreciate that. Though I'm sure it won't be needed. The day SHIELD shuts down is the day HYDRA infiltrates us."

They both laughed incredulously. Hill gave one last nod before departing. Tony grinned as he threw opened the doors of the conference room.

"Supernatural Season 5! Ooh, has Gabriel died yet?"

"TONY!"

**Author's Note:**

> Please review, comment, or leave kudos! Thank you for reading, your feedback is greatly appreciated.


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